Stephen Breyer hints at retiring from the Supreme Court
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
When might Stephen Breyer retire from the Supreme Court? According to a new interview, he hasn't decided, but he opened up a bit about the "psychology" of the decision.
Breyer spoke with The New York Times amid continuing pressure from the left to retire in order to ensure President Biden can replace him on the Supreme Court with another liberal justice. The Times writes that Breyer is "struggling to decide when to retire," but he said in the interview there are "many things" that will go into the decision. In particular, Breyer pointed to a comment the late Justice Antonin Scalia once made about his hopes for his successor.
"He said, 'I don't want somebody appointed who will just reverse everything I've done for the last 25 years,'" Breyer said, adding that this will "inevitably be in the psychology" of his decision.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I don't think I'm going to stay there till I die — hope not," Breyer also said.
This comes after Breyer last month said in an interview with CNN he hasn't decided on when he'll retire but that he'll take two factors into account: "Primarily, of course, health," he said. "Second, the court."
While not providing more information about his retirement plans, Breyer told the Times that "there are many considerations," while noting, "I don't like making decisions about myself." Read the full interview at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
The 8 best TV shows of the 1960sThe standout shows of this decade take viewers from outer space to the Wild West
-
Microdramas are boomingUnder the radar Scroll to watch a whole movie
-
The Olympic timekeepers keeping the Games on trackUnder the Radar Swiss watchmaking giant Omega has been at the finish line of every Olympic Games for nearly 100 years
-
Rubio boosts Orbán ahead of Hungary electionSpeed Read Far-right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is facing a tough re-election fight after many years in power
-
Key Bangladesh election returns old guard to powerSpeed Read The Bangladesh Nationalist Party claimed a decisive victory
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
